I have not been able to discover what ’mas rantian means, as the Pawang could not explain it (though she insisted that it was right), and it is not in any dictionary. [↑]
[214] The Muhammadan name for the Founder of Christianity. [↑]
[215] During the performance of this part of the ceremony (which is called chĕrangkan tali t’rap) omens are taken as to the prosperity or otherwise of the people of the house, and the observations have therefore to be made with the greatest care. The most disastrous omen is the cawing of a crow or rook; next to this (in point of disastrous significance) comes the mewing cry of the kite, and, thirdly, the flight of the ground-dove (tĕkukur). A good omen is the flight of the bird called the Rice’s Husband (Laki Padi), but the best omen is the absence of any portent or sound, even such as the falling of a tree, the crackling of a branch, or a shout in the distance, all of which are harbingers of misfortune of some sort. [↑]
[216] The Pawang said to me afterwards, when I questioned her about this, “If you want your husked rice to be white and smooth (puteh lanchap) you must stand up facing the sun at nine o’clock (angkat kĕning, lit. ‘Raise the eyebrow’), turn up the whites of your eyes, swallow the water in your mouth, and your rice will be smooth and white and easily swallowed. But if you want it to be a little rough (kĕsat), so that you may not be tempted to eat too much of it during hard times, instead of directly swallowing the water in your mouth, you must put the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, and contract the throat thrice, slowly swallowing as you do so.” To the above she then added: “Besides this, you can make the whole field of rice break into waves by standing up, clapping the hands, and then pushing each hand right up the sleeve of the opposite arm (I am not quite sure if I rightly understood this last, but am fairly certain that it is correct—my notes have only ‘run the hands up the arms’), saying as you do so:—
“Al-salam ʿaleikum,
Waman wamat,
Paku amat,
Wathohar.”
This will swell the grains, and prevent them from getting empty (minching, jangan banyak hampa).” [↑]
[217] This umbrella had been forgotten, and we were compelled to wait while one of the “bearers” returned to the house to fetch it; as without it, I was told, the Rice-child could not be escorted home. [↑]